2010 Syracuse Football Predictions

August 5, 2010

Syracuse heads into the 2010 season with 15 starters back from the 2009 season, but the Orange went just 4-8 last year and were only 1-6 in Big East play. The Orange have not put together a winning season since 2001 when they went 10-3. They do enter into the second season under head coach Doug Marrone, so the players should be much better prepared under his new schemes. Offensive coordinator Rob Spence was fired, and Marrone is going to take over the playing calling duties in 2010. Here is a quick breakdown of what the Orange will send to the field this season, plus my thoughts on where they will finish the year in the Big East.

Offense:

The Orange will turn to a new quarterback in 2010, and the competition appears to be wide open heading into the fall. Sophomore Ryan Nassib should have the early edge after getting some playing type in 2009, but he was used mostly in the Orange’s version of the wild cat last season. Red-shirt freshman Charley Loeb and  true freshman John Kinder also have a shot at winning the starting job this season.

The Orange bring back senior running back Delone Carter, who finished 4th in the Big East last season with 1,021 yards and a team best 11 touchdowns. Carter will be a key point in the Orange offense this season, but they will also get help from junior Antwon Bailey and sophomore Averin Collier in the running game.

The Orange will have to do without their top threat in the passing game from last year, as Mike Williams is gone, but they do return two starters in sophomore Alec Lemon and junior Marcus Sales. Senior wide out Aaron Weaver is expected to fill the void left by Williams in the starting lineup. The Orange will also have a new starter at tight end this season, as junior Nick Provo has the early edge at the starting job.

The offensive line is a big concern for the Orange this season, as they have just two starters back. They have to replace the ever important left tackle spot and both spots on the right side of the line. Junior Michael Hay is projected to take over at left tackle, while junior tackle Josh White and senior guard Andrew Tiller are expected to step in on the right side.

Defense:

The Orange made some nice improvements on this side of the ball in 2009, and with 10 starters back for the 2010 season the hope is this unit will be even better this season. The only new starter needed is at one of the defensive tackle spots, where junior Deon Goggins is expected to step in and start next to senior Andrew Lewis. Junior Mikhail Marinovich and sophomore Chandler Jones were impressive at the two defensive end spots last season, and should put more pressure on the quarterback this season in the second year under defensive coordinator Scott Shafer.

With all three starters back at the linebacker positions this season, this unit figures to be a big strength for this side of the ball. Senior strong-side linebacker Doug Hughes finished third in tackles a year ago and was the team leader with 9.5 sacks. Senior middle linebacker Derrell Smith is also coming off a strong season, as Smith led the Orange with 82 tackles and finished second to Hughes with 6.5 sacks in 2009.

The secondary brings back all four starters this season, but this unit needs to improve this season for the defense to really be a threat this year, as the Orange allowed 235 passing yards a game to opposing offense last season. The top performers in this group are the safety duo of seniors  Max Suter and Mike Holmes.

Prediction – 7th Big East: The Orange should be much more competitive in the Big East this season, as opposing teams should no longer be able to look at the Cuse on their schedule and consider it a win before they even play the game. There is a lot of talent on this team, and it would not surprise me if Marrone ends up leading to the Orange to an even better finish in the Big East than I have predicted.

For a complete look at how the conference will shape up this season, check out our 2010 Big East predictions.

If you plan on betting the college football odds this season, be sure to stop back for our expert college football picks when the 2010 season gets underway.

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Posted by Jimmy Boyd · Filed Under Football Picks, Football Predictions, Football Rankings 

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